Strange Magic
by Phobios
Summary: Following her dream from her S.P.E.W. days, Hermione Granger, ministry prodigy and war hero, is breaking her back attempting to pass her new Equality Initiative. While grappling with nostalgia, friends' rapidly changing lives, and life after the war, a ghost from her Hogwarts years wanders into her life to help her take a few steps out of the past and into the life waiting beyond.
1. Chapter 1

(Part 1)

"I said _no_ Ms. Granger. There's absolutely no way we can fit this into next year's agenda. With the budget the way it is and the state of affairs in our infrastructure and peace-keeping efforts there is just no room for a non-pressing initiative…"

"But, _sir_ , that's the entire point! If _we_ don't prioritize this first it will never become a pressing issue and with all due respect, riding off of the current momentum towards change, this could be the best possible time for such…"

"Ms. Granger, it's absolutely not feasible!"

"Well, if we could take some of the funding out of our Law Enforcement programs and restrict Department of Mysteries budget a bit…"

"HA. I would be _shocked_ if even 10% of the population got behind those cuts. That's political suicide. After the war, the people need to feel _safe_ above all else and there is nothing that will make them feel less safe than cutting funds for our Law Enforcement. Ridiculous."

"Sir, if you look at the statistics there is an overwhelming amount of fiscal waste in these departments and it wouldn't _actually_ make anyone less safe! This is so important, Mr. McLaggen these magical beings have been waiting for hundreds of years for legal equality!"

"That's quite enough, Ms. Granger!" This sentence echoed through the room like a clap of thunder, causing me to almost imperceptibly wince. My boss relished in the newfound silence. There was a moment's twinkle of anger in his piercing green eyes as he stared me down. His broad shoulders began to swell as he opened his mouth to speak in that round and deep politician's voice, "Now, I know you're a bright young witch. My nephew Cormac has attested to your talent and intelligence on multiple occasions and since coming to work in my office, I must admit, I have been quite impressed with how well you've lived up to this high praise. It is for this reason and this reason alone that I am letting you off so gently on this matter. You have a lot of potential here at the ministry. You're exactly the type of person we love to hire here and watch thrive, so please don't squander it with these petty _projects._ In response to your statistics, politics has never been about actuality, Ms. Granger. Everything is emotion and perception and you would do well to remember that. And _as for your_ _creatures_ , if they've survived this many years in such conditions, they can do to survive a bit longer."

A moment's pause.

"Understood?" He still hadn't broken eye contact.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir. I'll do my best to remember that," I responded, fighting to swallow the molten ball of anger pulsing in my throat.

He clapped his hands together, "Very well then. Thank you for the rest of your work today" - he laid his hand on the stack of paperwork I'd been slaving over all week - "and enjoy your weekend."

"Yes, sir. Thank you."

We stood at the same moment, and I extended my hand out to shake, taking particular care to straighten my back and and assume the most confident and politician-worthy stance I could muster. Unfortunately, Mr. McLaggen was massive in stature and although just starting to gain weight with age, still maintained a stately and cut physique, right down to his aggressively gelled salt-and-pepper hair. He grabbed my hand, entirely enveloping it in his thick fingers, and squeezed just tight enough to verge on uncomfortable. I met those scary eyes again, refusing to show any sign of concession, and squeezed just as hard back as we shook. He raised an eyebrow at me and let me go.

Just as I hit the door, he stopped me, "Ms. Granger."

I turned back, a moment of foolish hope flashing in my eyes, "Yes?"

"I will be seeing you at the Minister's Holiday Party this weekend? I expect my entire staff to be in attendance."

I tried to keep my face from falling perceptibly, but he clearly noticed, and a smirk twitched at the edges of his lips, "Of course, sir. I'll see you then."

I walked out, barely making it back to my tiny cubicle before I exploded, hissing quiet curses through my clenched teeth, as I grabbed my bag and started aggressively packing up for the weekend. I had never been more glad to get out of this black marble hellhole that is the ministry.

When I first got this job, Fridays used to be annoying for an entirely different reason. I'd felt productive. I'd gotten my dream job and I'd felt like I was making a difference and it'd almost been disappointing to reach Friday afternoon feeling like there was so much more I could still do. And I still had days like that, but I was starting to become intimately acquainted with all the roadblocks and red tape and skewed priorities in politics.

Once packed, I took a moment, closed my eyes, and forced a deep breath into my lungs. _This is just how it goes, Hermione. Keep your head up. Keep playing the game. Keep working. It WILL happen one day._ I opened my eyes again, grabbed my wand, fastened my cloak, and exited the little gray box where I worked, braving the world yet again. But now it was the weekend and the relief in knowing that was euphoric.

I made my way through the twisting halls and over to the lift, waving at a few friends as I passed. I'd been at this job for just over a year and it was beginning to feel like a second home to me. I was finding my place. I was getting used to the corridors. Even on days when it was my hellhole, the ministry was still sort of my home, and I begrudgingly loved the majorityax of moments here. I stepped into the lift alone, instinctively reached up for a hand hold, and tapped my wand for the lobby and the little box immediately dropped 5 stories through the air before shooting backwards.

It snapped to a halt, the doors clanged open for a moment, and a lanky man with sandy blonde hair and crooked teeth ambled in next to a squat older woman with a massive blue-grey beehive seeming to weigh down her hair. I smiled at their presence.

"Reilly! Maeve! Merlin, am I glad to see you!"

"Oi, you'ra sight fer sore eyes, aintya," the man drawled, stepping in next to me, and clapping an arm around my shoulders.

"Hermione!" the woman squeaked happily at me. "You look terrible my dear! Long week, eh?"

She grabbed my hand in her tiny, pruny one, and somehow it was the most comforting gesture in the world. Another couple of men ran to make the lift before the doors shut.

"Yes, you could say that…" I sighed, shaking my head at the floor.

The lift lurched violently to the left, but all parties in the car stayed perfectly upright and continued on.

"Don' let that tosser, McLimpwilly, get ye down. He's not worth a shite of your time. Yer the feckin' 'brightest witch o' yer age,' amirite? Ye don' need to lis'en to some old gobshite runnin' speakin' atche outa his arsehole," Reilly chuckled, beaming at me unevenly, his brown eyes sparkling wildly.

"Thanks, Reilly."

"Jus' keep on yer feet, honey," he winked at me, as the lift shot up again.

The doors clanged open on what had to be the third floor (Administrative Division) and the lift was suddenly flooded with people, pushing Reilly and Madge and I shoulder to shoulder up against the edge of the box, like sardines.

We shot to the right and down and forward once more and then finally the doors opened into the immense, awe-inspiring lobby of the ministry, covered in dark granite with an immense, newly-constructed statue smack dab in the middle, swarming with a sea of people, all pushing each other and flowing like a massive school of fish. Pops of green light from the constantly burning floo fires strobed the edge of the hall, giving it a flickering quality. Folded paper airplane memos zipped about as fast as they could go in the air above us, trying to reach their recipients before they left for the day. It was peak traffic time and wildly congested and yet everyone moved with a purpose and everything still functioned and fit together like cogs in an advanced machine. I saw it nearly every day and yet it still took my breath away.

The lift emptied fast, and I waved a quick goodbye to Madge and Reilly before we scattered into the crowd. I wondered if they'd be going go to the Minister's Holiday Party, as well, but they were gone before I could ask. I made my way as swiftly as I could to the fireplaces and joined the shortest queue I could find behind a tall, hook nosed witch in a pointed purple hat. In a moment I was in the fire and shooting through the network home.

Finally, out of the fire I stepped into my one bedroom flat in Diagon Alley. With a wave of my hand, the lamps in the room sprung to light themselves. Despite being a small hole in the wall, it was my pride and joy. I'd configured the main part of the room into a lovely sitting area with a worn-but-lovable, emerald velvet, pull out couch and a few antique bergère chairs organized around a little table by the fireplace. The back corner housed my little kitchen area with my thick ornate table. My wardrobe had been fashioned into a cozy seat snuggled into the bay window. The whole place was a bit rustic but I had it well decorated in light lavender and emerald green, with little feminine touches everywhere, from framed pictures on the walls, to little vases of dainty flowers, and fluffy blankets over the side of the couch. For the first time, it was a place that truly felt my own.

I walked over to the kitchen, opened up the far right cabinet by the fridge, and scanned the contents. Bottles on bottles shimmered in the warm light. I located my favorite bottle of whiskey, unstoppered it, and poured myself a nice hefty glass on the rocks. I needed it today. I took a sip and let the fire dance on my tongue and slide down my throat, delighting in the full taste and the emanating warmth that started a sort of glow in my cheeks.

I set down my glass, moved back towards the beautiful mantle, and floo-ed Harry's place, sticking my face in the green flames with a subtle wince. Putting my face into what appeared to be hot coals never got easier for me, despite the unrealistic-looking, lime-colored fire.

My head popped up into in Harry's bright modern apartment across town.

"Hellooo?" I called musically into the void. After a moment, Ginny's face appeared around a corner.

"Oh, 'Mione! Perfect! I was just about to come calling! How are you?"

"I feel positively like horse shite. Oh, Gin, it's been the longest week."

"Oh honey. I'm so sorry! Sounds like you need a proper night out!"

Ginny was always getting ahead of herself, "No, no, I'm exhausted. I'd rather just talk, honestly…"

But then again she never took no for an answer either, "Absolutely not! I will not accept that! I will not allow you to be defeated by this gargoyle of a boss! I swear, you've got to stand-"

"Ginny?"

She turned to me, eyes big as saucers, finally listening, "Hmm?"

"Can you just get Harry for me? I just want to sit around and drink whiskey with him."

She sighed and looked at me pityingly, "I'm afraid both he and my brother are _occupied_ tonight finishing up some Auror work before the party tomorrow, so it's a stag night for all of us!"

"Ginny, I told you," I started to moan.

"Come on, you! Luna's _finally_ back in town from South Africa, and Hannah and Seamus and Neville are going to meet us at the Leaky Cauldron anyways and all your sorry ass has to do is walk downstairs and down the street! You are coming."

"I _really_ don't want to."

"It doesn't matter what you want then, does it? This'll be good for you, 'Mione."

"Has anyone ever called you pushy before?"

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Now go get ready, and don't you _dare_ wear what you wore to work! You are a young 21 year old lady and you should start acting like it!"

"Ginny?"

" _What_?" She looked me dead on with that ornery fury she had.

"I love you."

She melted a bit and smiled at me, "I know. I love you, too. I'll see you at 9, alright!"

I pulled my head back out of the fire, shaking my head and chuckling. I needed another sip of that whiskey.


	2. Chapter 2

p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;"(Part 2)/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" At 9:03, I stood in my bathroom staring at myself in the mirror. I was a bit behind, and even though I knew Ginny was unlikely to be on time, those couple of minutes felt like my petty rebellion. I'd eaten dinner and was nearing the end of my second glass of whiskey, sipping as I twisted and untwisted the tendrils of hair that framed my face, trying to figure out how to make myself look better. I'd settled on a deep part, which I decided looked quite good, and had a sort of earthy makeup ensemble with a mauve sort of lip. I'd fished a tight, black, v-neck wrap top out of the back of my drawer and thrown it on over a pair of jeans. I turned sideways looking at my body in profile in the mirror. I was far from frumpy but maybe still a bit heavier than I'd like. I'd have to get on that. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" I took a large sip of my whiskey before putting on some lavender oil as perfume and running another coat of lipstick over my lips. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" I shut my eyes again and forced that breath. It's alright, Hermione. You can do this. It'll probably even be fun! Let's do this. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" I opened my eyes again, slipped my wand into my high-heeled boot, and headed out. In a minute though, I was back, running in, to pin hoopy gold earrings into my ears and wrap a couple of short gold necklaces around my neck. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Now, I was ready./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" I got to the Leaky Cauldron just at a quarter past. It was just starting to fill up that Friday night with a sort of warm and cheery buzz going on. A bit of happy folk music chimed from the corner and I nodded my head to the rhythm while scanning the room. As I'd assumed, Ginny and the other girls were nowhere to be found yet, and just as I was feeling the peak of my anxiety and considering bolting before they got there, I spotted Neville and Seamus seated at the edge of the bar. As I walked up, a flash of their first year selves shot through my brain and nearly floored me. We all looked so different. Had we not grown up together, the boys would have been recognizable. They'd become strapping young men right before my eyes, with Neville even rocking a permanent 5 o'clock shadow. Both boys looked older than 21 though. The war aged us prematurely, it seemed. Ginny was the one who looked like she'd gotten out easiest, and you could still see the strain of it all around her eyes when she let her guard down./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Neville spotted me first, "Hermione! Oi! Over here!" I quickened my pace a bit as he rose to wrap me in a massive hug. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Seamus gave me a coy smile and tipped his beer at me before pulling me into a side hug, "Good te see ya!"/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "How are you guys? You look lovely!" I complemented, tugging on the collar of Neville's blazer. He did look sharp in that tweed, even if it came off a bit professor-y./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Quite alright! Let's get you a pint!" Neville turned to the barkeep and held up three fingers and before long three full pints of butterbeer appeared frothing in front of us./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "'Mione, I heard yer House Elf and Centaur Initiative might be on the docket for next year, eh?" Seamus smiled at me./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Well, unfortunately," I started to correct him, but before I could say much more, an arm clapped over my shoulder./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Ah no! Why are you tossers talking about work? We're here to have fun and get piss drunk! Alright?" Ginny poked at us smiling. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She wore the hell out of a maroon tank top, with her signature, flaming-red hair cascading down her shoulders like a waterfall of fire. She always looked so flawless. Her lips glowed in red lipstick, her eyes were bright and warm, her cheekbones high, her arms toned, all the right portions of hair pinned up, and an entire air of welcoming confidence. In that low bar light with that grin on her face, I could see why my best friend had fallen for her./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" In a moment, a shimmer of platinum hair raced past us and pounced on Neville and Seamus at once, before pulling back and throwing herself on me, too. She extracted herself from us and peered sweetly at all of us from those massive blue eyes, looking like a fairy in her yellow dress. Luna!/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Oh my god," she began to chatter. "Look at you darling people, you look better than gold to a niffler right now. I've got to tell you ALL about South Africa! I've met so many interesting people and I fell in love with this magical man, it's all so wild, I could have never dreamed it up."/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" I started to laugh. As much as I hated to admit it, Ginny had been right, this was doing me a lot of good. I scanned my friends' faces as I listened to their banter. All of a sudden, my eyes were drawn to Neville, who seemed to freeze with his gaze fiercely trained on the front door. I turned slightly and immediately so as not to draw attention to myself and immediately saw what he was looking at./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" A pretty, round-faced girl had just stepped into the pub. Hannah. Hannah Abbott, the sixth person of our entourage tonight. A lovely, loyal, hardworking girl, who'd become close with all of us in our post-war year at Hogwarts. She was kind and smart and warm and even from across the room her happy smile still radiated captivatingly. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;"I looked back at Neville, who was trying to fight a blush and attempted to go back to listening to Luna. Hannah soon joined us and before too long we were all a tad… snockered./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" That's when the night really began./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" The bar filled up fast once the clock hit 10, and by 11, Ginny was sitting on a bar table surrounded by a crowd of witches and wizards talking Quiddich, laughing and tossing her hair while they all drooled listening to her. Neville and Hannah, god bless their souls, were talking quietly in a corner, and to my delight, Hannah seemed to be even more into it than Neville did. Seamus was arguing angrily with the bartender about something or other, slipping into a gradually more and more intense Irish accent as he did so. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" And as for Luna and I, well, we'd managed to start the dance floor and get the little band to play some more lively music. We were singing energetically to each other, practically drunk-yelling into each other's faces, and laughing hysterically the whole time. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Let's get another drink!" She encouraged me. We pushed our way back through the crowd, a tad sweaty and very happy, to the bar. I ordered us drinks and asked her about her travels./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Oh Africa's just gorgeous. We're discovering so many new magical creatures, 'Mione. Lots of them we used to know plenty about but they had to go into hiding during the First Wizarding War and much of our files on them were destroyed. I got to see a wild erumpent in the flesh. They're actually far sweeter than I expected, but I certainly wouldn't cross one. And there are these beautiful multicolored fairy-birds. 'Mione, they're just lovely!"/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "That's so wonderful, Luna. I'm so glad for you!" I took a hefty swig of butterbeer, and looked back over at Neville and Hannah, trying to be subtle./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Luna was the most perceptive person I've ever met, so of course she noticed, "It seems they're rather fond of each other."/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" I turned to her, her massive watery blue eyes trained on the pair. Despite their size, I couldn't read what was in them./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "You know nothing's happening there, yet, if you're wondering. I'm still sorry you have to see it. Are you alright?" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She turned those eyes on me, shaking her head, "Yes, it's a tad bittersweet. But if the war gave me anything, it was perspective. I guess Neville and I were never in the cards long term, so to speak. We had a splendid time together, but it was never going to last. And, anyways, like I said. I've met someone!"/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Have you now? Tell me about him!" I asked./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She lit up again, immediately, "Oh 'Mione. He's absolutely glorious. A relative of Newt Scamander! So smart, and kind, and talented, and a very experienced magical ecologist. He's so attractive, too! You'd think he's part Veela with the way he looks and all. I never expected it to happen but there we were a few weeks ago, burning the midnight oil together, under the stars, going over our reports for the day when we got to talking, and I suppose the rest is history!"/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Oh yeah?" I was so happy to see her so happy./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Yup, we got all caught up and shagged that very night!" She smiled without skipping a beat./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" I busted out laughing and turned back to the bar./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Alright, Luna! Ready, three, two, one, CHUG!" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" I raced to throw back my glass and so did she. I nearly choked and looked up at her frothy-lipped and coughing to find her whole cup had disappeared down her throat with ease which sent me into a fit of drunk giggles. Luna reached over and started to shape and curl the edges of my beer-froth mustache, when we heard a shout and a ruckus from across the room./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" I wiped off the white from my lip and whipped around, immediately noticing Ginny, chest to chest with one of the guys who'd surrounded her. The man was clutching his cheek in one hand and her arm in the other. He was a big dude, heaving breaths of fury in her face. She was staring outraged at him, chest puffed up, and to the whole world looking like a ball of fire ready to explode. Only Luna and I recognized the flicker of fear in her eyes./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Fuck." I exclaimed starting to move, Luna immediately at my heels. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Things were escalating in the seconds it took for us to get over there./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Gin!" I called out. "Hey! You wanker! Let go of her!"/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" The oaf turned to look in the direction of my yells, giving Ginny just enough of an opportunity to rip her wrist from his grip. But rather than making a break for it, she reared up to fight./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Luna! 'Mione! This disgusting arselick tried to grope me!"/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" At those words, a rage began to surface. I fought to keep it hidden. We just needed to get Ginny out of there./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "You twat! How dare you!? I could crush you with my little finger!" He growled into her face./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "I dare you to try! I'm engaged to Harry Fucking Potter himself. You lay one hand on me and you're dead," She hissed back./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "GINNY! Let's go!" I yelled at her, searching frantically for backup. Hannah and Neville'd just now noticed something but hadn't even stood up yet. Seamus was nowhere to be found. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "He's not even worth our time," Ginny huffed, tossing her hair at him and finally starting to go with me. I moved her past me, and started to turn away./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Right as we were on the verge of being out of the whole situation, there was a bellow behind us, "CUNT!"/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Before I could stop myself, that fury I'd been fighting all day exploded out of me, I whipped back around, summoning my wand to shoot like a rocket out of my boot and into my hand as I stepped up to him, "What'd you call her!? Excuse me, what did you just say to her!?"/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" My wand was in his face now, a madness overtaking me. As I made eye contact with that behemoth, my mind was going a million miles per hour trying to figure out the best way to destroy this man and I could feel him evaluating the same./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Before either one of us could do anything, a hand hit my shoulder, and started to push us apart./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" A firm, commanding voice echoed from beside me, "Both of you. Lower your wands immediately. You will be arrested."/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" I/spanspan style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;" froze, waiting for the mammoth to lower first. I wasn't moving until he did./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" The voice, strangely familiar, came again, but I couldn't take my eyes off the meathead long enough to see who it was, "You two may be under the impression I was joking, so I'll give you another chance. Drop your wands. Now."/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" I took a deep breath and started to bring mine down and took a step back, eyes still never leaving the monster's. As I took my next step, his wand arm shot up again and the beginnings of a curse started on his lips. I struggled to react fast enough in my intoxicated state, and fear shot through my body./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Faster than I could understand, there was a body inserting itself between me and the man, pushing me back and a flash of blue light. I instinctively shut my eyes. When I opened them, the giant guy was laying stiff on the floor, his friends backing up around him, and a tall, broad, and blonde figure stood looking over him, tucking his wand efficiently into his robes./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Higgs, please, can you take this man up to the ministry for booking," he ordered a shorter, huskier young man over to them, before turning to the oaf's friends. "I suggest one of you go with him. He'll need to post bail."/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Then the figure turned, shocking me with a strikingly handsome face, a cut jawline, full lips, and gorgeous emerald eyes. My insides curled in disgust as my drunk brain caught up and identified the man as someone unfortunately personally undesirable, but I still couldn't place a name. It wasn't until he put a concerned hand on my shoulder and spoke again that I finally identified him, "Are you alright?"/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Cormac. Cormac McLaggen. An arrogant tosser, the bane of my sixth year, and my boss's nephew. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Um…" I fought to remain kind for the sake of that last point. "Yes. I suppose I'm fine."/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Leave it to Cormac to try to play Hercules and try to save me from a stupid bar fight. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Good," He turned back to help his friend settle the others./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" I turned back to my friends. Hannah and Neville had reached us by that point and they all surrounded Ginny protectively. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Are you alright?" I asked her, concerned./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She stiffened with pride, "Of course." Then melted a bit, "Thank you, honey. I love you."/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "I love you, too."/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "What'd you say we get out of here?" Hannah suggested, with Luna nodding in agreement./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "If you want," Ginny said, sounding secretly relieved./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Alright then, it's settled, we'll all go back to yours," I gestured at Ginny and moved to leave./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" But, of course, it couldn't be that easy. Before I could even move, Cormac's hand was back on my shoulder, "I hate to say this, but you're going to have to stay with me, Hermione, so I can take your statement."/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" A wave of exhaustion and desperation flushed me, "Come on… Are you even an auror? Can't I just please go home? I won't press charges! I just… I just…"/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "I'm so sorry, Hermione. It's my job…" He looked pityingly at me, but then turned to my friends, "You lot can go, though."/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Just go ahead," I dismissed them. And my friends conceded, hugged me goodbye, and shuffled away, flashing back apologetic glances./span/p 


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